Here’s my take on Angelina Jolie’s story to pursue preventive care for breast cancer. On MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry Show, I talk about how women’s health movements can use stories like Jolie’s to break down economic and cultural barriers to care facing lower-income women and women of color, not just for breast cancer but for other less visible diseases such as myeloma and endometriosis.

… Continue Reading

The Class of 2013 is facing staggering student debt, a tough job market, and the reality of Washington gridlock – and yet we remain optimistic about the future? Why? I presented a portrait of the Millennial generation  on MSNBC’s Melissa-Harry Perry Show on graduation weekend:

Eighty-two year-old Piara Singh turned to walk home from his gurdwara (Sikh house of worship) in Fresno as he had done every morning for five years. But this day was different. He never made it home. He was assaulted from behind and brutally beaten with a steel rod, leaving him with multiple lacerations, broken ribs and a punctured lung.

This happened in my hometown this month. I was heartbroken when I heard the… Continue Reading

The crisis is over; now the politics begins. On MSNBC, I debrief the Boston Marathon bombing and aftermath from the perspective of Muslim and Sikh American communities. America stands at a crossroads: Will we go down the road of fear and division, as we saw after 9/11? I believe another future is possible. Here’s why:

Published on Washington Post.

With the news that two suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing are accounted for, one dead and the other in custody, I breathed a sigh of relief. A terror-stricken week that began with bombings and ended with shootouts was finally over.

But the moment the suspects were identified as Muslim marked a new period of anxiety and vulnerability for millions… Continue Reading

“Now is the time to turn that heartbreak into something real,” said President Obama 100 days after the Newtown mass shooting. On MSNBC, I discuss the rise of a diverse movement calling upon Congress to take action on gun violence prevention legislation. You can join Newtown clergy leaders and take action with Groundswell here!

Sheryl Sandburg asks women to hold fast to personal ambition and “lean in” at work. My question: When women in power lean in, who are they leaning on? What is the good life — and for whom? I had the chance to lift up perspectives among Millennial women and women of color on MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry Show.” Check it out!

Here’s my follow-up article on MSNBC: “‘Lean In’? For Millennials,… Continue Reading

Published on the Melissa Harris-Perry Blog.

As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two marriage equality cases last week, my partner and I watched the television set with bated breath. When the camera zoomed in on the steps of the Supreme Court, and LGBTQ Americans took the podium to tell their stories, we took one another’s hand and choked back tears.

We are a straight couple.

The… Continue Reading

Published on the Melissa Harris-Perry blog.

In the public debate raging over Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s new book Lean In, we should pay special attention to the voices of young people–women and men of different backgrounds.

This week alone, I have heard from dozens of Millennials in their 20s and 30s, all from working class and middle class families. We know that “leaning in” to careers comes at a cost:… Continue Reading